The iconic music star Dolly Parton said that she’s “at peace” with her husband Carl Dean’s death in a recently released interview.
She surprised her fans in Tennessee
Dolly Parton spoke about her late husband Carl Dean in an interview with Knox News who sat down with her after she surprised fans at Dollywood’s Celebrity Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on Friday 14 March.
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The event was to celebrate the resort’s 40th operating season and was Parton’s first public appearance since Dean’s death.
Parton spoke about life after Dean
In speaking about her grief and dealing with life after the death of her husband, who she was with for nearly 60 years, Parton said, “I’m doing better than I thought I would.”
“I’ve been with him 60 years. So, I’m going to have to relearn some of the things that we’ve done. But I’ll keep him always close.”
The singer said she was “at peace”
Parton explained, “I’m at peace that he’s at peace, but that don’t keep me from missing him and loving him.”
She acknowledged that Dean “suffered a great deal,” adding, “It’s a hole in my heart, you know, but we’ll fill that up with good stuff and he’ll still always be with me.”
Dean supported Parton in her career
Although Dean was a private person who preferred living life away from the spotlight, this didn’t stop him from supporting Parton whenever he could. The singer shared that he would come see her performing in Dollywood.
“He used to come to the park; he bought his own ticket – stood in line and got his ticket. He didn’t want somebody giving him a ticket ‘cause he was Dolly’s husband. Everybody thinks that’s the funniest thing,” she said.
He would even give her constructive feedback
Not only was Dean supportive of his wife but he would also give her constructive feedback once he was home from his visits to Dollywood.
“He would say, ‘You need more bathrooms,’” Parton recalled while humorously imitating Dean’s voice. “Or he would say, ‘You need to tell them this or that. It’s crowded over in that area. You might want to tell them they ought to do this or that.’”
Parton said she might start doing secret trips too
“He wasn’t coming to criticize, but he would notice things and he would say, you might want to bring this to their attention,” Parton explained.
“I think I would do like Carl,” she said, adding that she might also start doing silent trips to Dollywood. “I would just walk around, look at everything.”
The couple had met outside a Nashville laundromat in 1964 and had been together since. Parton announced Dean’s death in an Instagram post earlier this month. He died at 82.